Compensating astragal



Aug. 15, 1933. J F. POWELL 1,922,860

l COMPENSAT ING AS TRAGAL Filed 001;. 16, 1931 .f 1 J/ zz i@ ZN VENTO??ORIT/EY Cil " purposes of such automatic exit devices.

Patented Aug. 15, 1933 UNiTsxo STATES PATENT oFFlce:

i Application October 16, 1931. SerialvNd 569,153

1 Claim.

This invention relates generally to doors and more particularly to acompensating astragal therefor.

In doors, particularly such as are used in theatres, churches, schools,and other places where large gatherings of persons occur, it isdesirable that the doors swing freely wtllout,v how-V ever, having largespace between the stiles of the doors when the latter are closed. Suchdoors are 'generally equipped with rire and panic exit devices and openautomatically when pressure is applied thereagainst. However, if suchdoors are iitted closely, they are liable to bind and stick when thewood expands, thereby defeating the On the other hand, if allowance ismade for expansion, comparatively large space is left between the twodoor sections and cold air is thus permitted to enter the building andthe appearance of the door is impaired by the unsightly large spaces.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a door having acompensating astragal which can be adjusted relatively to said door soas to maintain at all times the necessary operating clearance betweenthe meeting edges of the door sections, the variations in the widths ofthe doors produced by expansion or shrinkage of wood being compensatedfor by the adjustment of said astragal.

` Other objects of the invention are to provide a device by means ofwhich the astragal can be supported on the stile or" a door at aplurality of spaced points, said devices being adjustable to move saidastragal relatively to said stile, there by maintaining the requiredoperating clearance between said astragal and the adjacent member andeliminating all danger of binding of the door.

Additional objects of the invention are to provide a compensatingastragal which is adjustably supported by and engageable with a stile ofa door and which can be adjusted to compensate for the variations inwidths produced in the door by the shrinkage and/ or expansion of woodfrom which the door is made.

With these and other objects in View, my invention consists in certainnovel features of construction and arrangement of parts, hereinaftermore fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, in which- Figure l is a large horizontal cross section takenthrough the stiles of two cooperating doors.

Figure 2 is an edge elevational View of a door equipped with mycompensating astragal.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

i Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing, l@ and 11 indicatedoors which are arranged in cooperativerelation and which are mounted toswing in the directions indicated by arrows in Figure l. DoorV isprovided with a stile 12 which has fixed to its outer edge an astragal14. Door l1 has a stile 15 on the outer edge of which is mounted acompensating astragal 16.

The opposed faces A` of the astragals` consist each oi a portion B whichare `disposed parallel to each other and a portion C which are disposedobliquely to the plane oi the respective portionB. Portions B of theastragals can be arranged in close proximity to each other so as toreduce the space therebetween to minimum and portions C provide thenecessary operating clearance to permit swinging movements of the door.

Both astragals are substantially alike in external appearance and incross sectional contours. They are both substantially channel-shape incross section, having parallel portions 14a and 16a, respectively, whichoverlap the edges of the corresponding Stiles.

Astragal 14 is made fast to stile 12 but astragal 16 is adjustablymounted on stile 15 by means oi compensating devices 17. These latterare arranged in spaced relation throughoutv the height of said astragal,as shown in Figure 2, where four of said compensating devices areillustrated.

Each compensating device consists of a plate 18 iixed to stile l5 andhaving a threaded opening 19 and a screw 20 iixed to astragal- 16 andengaging said opening 19 of plate 18.

The edge of the stile is provided with recesses or pockets 21 ofsuiiicient depths and each plate 18 is arranged in the bottom of eachpocket and is secured in position by screws 22. Extending inwardly Vfromeach pocket coaxial with opening 19 of the respective plate 18 is a bore24 which is of larger diameter than that of opening 19 and receives theend of screw 22.

The head a of said screw is arranged in a cupshaped member 25 which iscountersunk in the face A of astragal 16. Thus the annular edges of cupmembers 25, as well as the heads 20a, are disposed below the plane ofsaid face and do not interfere with the operation thereof.

Cup member 25 is provided in its bottom with an opening 26 and thatportion of the astragal between the bottom of member 25 and the innerface D of the astragalis provided with a bore 27 which is arrangedcoaxially with said opening 26. Both of these openings are preferablylarger than the diameter of screw 22 and the latter extends therethroughinto engagement with plate 18.

Bearing against face D is a washer 28 having an opening of sufficientdiameter to clear screw As the compensating astragal can be easily adjusted the desired clearance between the astragals of the doors can bemaintained at all times.

While I have shown and described herein the 5 20. A nut 29 isscrew-threaded on said screw and preferred form of my invention, it isobvious that 80 bears against washer 28. This nut is locked variouschanges in the construction and arrangeagainst accidental rotation by alock washer 30 ment of parts of my compensating astragal can and a locknut 31. Lock Washer 30 is placed bebe made and substituted for thoseherein disclosed tween said nuts and when lock nut 31 is drawn withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention.

tight said nuts 29 and 31 are held against rota- I claim: 85

' tion with respect to screw 20. Thus said screw is In a doorconstruction, the combination with a locked against longitudinalmovement with rewooden stile having a plurality of spaced inspect toastragal 16 but is permitted rotative wardly extending pockets formed inits outer edge, movement relatively thereto. When ther screw of anastragal matable with the said outer edge 20 is rotated by theengagement of head 20a, and perforated withaseries of perforationsregis- 90 said screw is moved longitudinally relatively to trable withthe stile pockets, a corresponding pluthe stile by virtue of itsengagement with plate v rality of metal cups embedded in the outer ends18, thereby adjusting the astragal 16 toward or of the astragalperforations, a corresponding plufrom the stile 15, depending on thedirection of rality of screws journalled in the astragal perfora- 20rotation of nuts 20a. In this manner, astragal tions and axially fixedrelative to the astragal, a 95 16 can be adjusted so as to maintainproper relacorresponding plurality of threaded elements one tion withthe fast astragal 14 without the necesmounted in each of the stilepockets and adapted sity of rehanging the door. The variations in tomate with the threaded inner ends of the width produced in the door bythe shrinkage `of screws, each of said screws having a non-circular woodcan be readily compensated for by the adouter end of less diameter thanthe internal diam- 100 Justment of said astragal 16. eter of theadjacent cup and an axial extent no The compensating astragal is of thesame apgreater than the cup depth. pearance as the fast astragal andconsequently JOHN F. POWELL. does not detract from the generalappearance of 30, the door.' The adjusting devices 17 are not con- 105'J' spicuous and are not visible when the door is closed.

